In light of the recent major update for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, introducing the Techmarine as playable class, chief creative officer of developer Saber Interactive Tim Willits has spoken about how the studio doesn’t see it as a live-service game. In an interview with IGN, Willits noted that there isn’t really a perfect term that could describe Space Marine 2 thanks to the negative connotations a label like “live-service” brings to conversations.
While Saber Interactive has continued its post-launch support for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 well into its second year, the studio also doesn’t really plan to “nickel-and-dime” its players.
“So one thing that I think that Saber’s done well is that we respect our players, we support our games through amazing free updates, and then also big paid updates,” said Willits. “But we don’t nickel-and-dime people to death. And I think that they’re like, ‘Multiplayer games that are supported over the long…’ I don’t know if there’s really a term for that.”
“So I don’t want to say live service game, because when you think of a live service game, you think about buying individual items. But we do support our games as long as they’re feasible to support.”
When asked about the negative reception to the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Chapter Voice Pack 1, Willits didn’t really offer much. “I don’t know. I thought it was cool,” he said. “We’ll see how it is. I mean, I don’t really have much to say on that.”
It is worth noting that the Chapter Voice Pack 1 DLC currently sits at an aggregate of “Overwhelmingly Negative” on Steam, with many players accusing the studio of releasing a shoddy DLC because it is still missing out on quite a few voice lines.
Willits has gone on to note that, while the studio is working on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3, continued support of Space Marine 2 remains a priority. He also pointed out how Saber Interactive has a history of supporting its multiplayer-focused shooters, like World War Z.
“No, we actually just released a big update and it’s still going strong,” he said. “Were we at number four on the top sales? So it’s still doing great for us. And we just released a big update. And like World War Z, we’re still making content for that, while the team obviously works on Space Marine 3.”
Warhammer 40,000 IP owner Games Workshop and Saber Interactive, along with publisher Focus Entertainment, had announced Space Marine 3 back in March. While few details have been revealed, the title is confirmed to have an entirely new campaign that continues the story of Ultramarine protagonist Titus, as well as new multiplayer game modes. Creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick had also confirmed back in November that it will have the same development cycle as Space Marine 2.
In the meantime, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Take a look at our review of its launch version for more details. Also check out our thoughts on why Space Marine 2 continues to feel like brutal masterpiece even now.